John Calipari's Latest Announcement Is Slap In The Face Of NCAA
John Calipari is using college basketball and the NBA’s new rules concerning draft declarations to flood the system with his players. On Twitter Wednesday he announced that every player on his Kentucky roster, even the walk-ons, would declare for the 2016 NBA Draft.
Here is his series of tweets:
Met with our team today. Told them that during the season it’s about the team and sacrificing for each other – which they did this year.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
When the season’s over, it’s about each individual player and what’s right for them and their families.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
With that being said, every player who is eligible for the draft, including our walk-ons, will submit their names for the NBA Draft ...
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
... in hopes of being invited to the combine in May.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
The new rule states they can submit their name a total of three times. If they choose to withdraw, they have until 10 days after the combine
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
It's a true win-win for the student-athlete.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
While what Calipari is proposing is completely legal, it’s also a mockery of the new system, which allows players to attend the NBA combine and pull their names out of the draft pool afterwards. The provision was supposed to accommodate players who might be on the bubble for the draft, allow them to show off for scouts and get advice on what they need to work on. Calipari wants it to be a showcase for Kentucky.
He will likely have players who declare and are invited the combine with the full intention of returning to school. Those players will take the spot of other athletes who are truly on the fence about their future. It is completely unfair to players facing tough decisions.
In addition to that, by making the announcement today, Calipari could also be overshadowing this weekend’s Sweet 16, because you can bet this will be discussed at length for the rest of the week. The NCAA Tournament’s regional semifinals tip-off tomorrow and this ridiculous move by Kentucky will still be a huge topic of conversation.
This makes Calipari look really petty. He can’t allow the spotlight to shine anywhere else for more than a few days, he constantly has to bring it back to himself. It’s another example of him exploiting the one-and-done rule and more proof that the system needs to be reformed.